Devastated bride hired a 'fairy godmother' to handle the most important day of her life...now she's warning others to STEER CLEAR

Published: 19:35, 15 May 2026 | Updated: 19:49, 15 May 2026 A bride says her dream wedding turned into 'a day from hell' after the Philadelphia coordinator she paid more than $6,000 to handle everything from catering to decorations allegedly failed to deliver and never refunded her money. Ashley Lopez told WPVI that she hired Traci R. Lawton, a Philadelphia-based wedding planner who operated under the business name Wedding Kiss Ballroom and referred to herself as the 'Fairy Bride Mother.' Lopez said she paid Lawton upfront to coordinate her Center City wedding, including the food, decorations, music and officiant. But Lopez said the problems began about an hour before the ceremony when Lawton allegedly told her that the caterer had been involved in a car accident. According to Lopez, Lawton then left the venue, forcing the bride to finish preparing for the wedding on her own. 'I walk into a venue and the first thing I get told is this has been a day from hell,' Lopez told WPVI. 'And I'm like, oh my God, what do you mean?' Lopez said a memorial table meant to honor her late grandmother and her husband's deceased father was never set up, despite her sending Lawton photographs to print and display. She also alleged that dinner service was delayed, the food that was served was not what she had paid for, and there was not enough food for all of her guests. Ashley Lopez said her dream wedding turned into 'a day from hell' after the Philadelphia coordinator she paid more than $6,000 to handle everything Lopez said she hired Traci R. Lawton, a local wedding planner who operated under the business name Wedding Kiss Ballroom and marketed herself as the 'Fairy Bride Mother' Lopez said the ordeal continued after the reception when Lawton allegedly misplaced the couple's marriage certificate. 'So then I had to go back, file a duplicate, harass her for a week to come back to my home to sign my marriage certificate so I can be legally married,' Lopez said. According to Lopez, Lawton later promised to refund some of the money, but no payment ever arrived. Screenshots shared by Lopez on Facebook appear to show Lawton acknowledging that the wedding had gone wrong and promising to repay her. In one text message, Lawton wrote that she would begin paying Lopez $300 every two weeks and send along any larger insurance payout she received. In another message, Lawton wrote that there was 'no amount of apologies that can make this right.' Lopez also shared a lengthy response Lawton posted to a Google review, in which the wedding planner said her caterer had been hospitalized after a serious car accident and two staff members contracted COVID.  Lawton wrote that she was not a 'wealthy woman' but intended to honor her commitment to refund the money. Screenshots shared by Lopez on Facebook appear to show Lawton acknowledging that the wedding had gone wrong and promising to repay her Lopez confirmed on Facebook that she won the lawsuit after Lawton failed to appear in court, but said she still has not recovered any of the money. Lopez said she was particularly hurt by what she described as Lawton's lack of accountability, arguing that repeated apologies meant little when no payments were made and the court judgment remained unpaid. She is now urging other brides to thoroughly research wedding vendors, ask for references and read reviews before handing over large sums of money. Lopez has taken her fight public on social media, including a six part TikTok series recounting the disaster. In a Facebook post, she accused Lawton of lying about shutting down her business and claimed the wedding planner is still taking on new clients while failing to repay the debt. The Daily Mail has reached out to Lopez and Lawton for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.